Saturday, February 6, 2010

PURIM....FESTIVAL OF CELEBRATIONS AND FUN.............................

Purim is a festival that is full of color and fun. We read the Scroll of Esther and find inspiration in the story of great courage and sacrifice. We celebrate the holiday with games, masquerades, jokes and loads of fun.Today we give our friends a gift of food , cookies and hamantaschen ,to show friendship and unity Many people send gifts to needy families and the very thought of giving ,has a feeling of joy

Making goodies for Purim, always involves the poppy seeds, called "mon" or "pereg". Buy the seeds fresh and you can prepare them in many different ways.

EASY HAMANTASCHEN .

2 Cups of Self Raising Flour.1/2 cup sugar.200 grams butter.1 teaspoon vanilla.I egg. Beat the egg and sugar . Add the butter and vanilla essence. Mix and then add the self raising flour. Work into a dough and place in the fridge for an hour. Roll and cut into rounds that you fold with the filling in it.

Make the filling.Use 2 cups of finely ground poppy seeds. {Mon or Pereg are other names}1 egg.1/3 cup of honey or sugar1 tablespoon of lemon juice.Half a cup of raisins and chopped nuts. Mix all the ingredients and use as a filling for the hamantaschen.

Bake in an medium oven and sprinkle with icing sugar to serve. I make the hamantaschen for the kids with Nutella and ground walnuts, cinnamon and raisins. The kids also love chocolate chips mixed with halva as a filling.

POPPYSEED CAKE.

THIS IS A GREAT DOUGH THAT CAN BE FILLED WITH THE POPPYSEED MIXTURE.

2 cups flour. 2 dessertspoons sugar2 teaspoons baking powder2 0zs butter. {60 grams}.1 egg 1 cup thick cream..A pinch of salt. .Sift the dry ingredients . Cut the butter into slices into the flour. Beat the eggs and cream . Fold the egg and cream mixture into the flour with a knife. Allow the dough to cool. { 20 minutes} Roll out on a floured board and fill with the pereg mixture. You can add one grated apple. Roll carefully into a "log" and bake at 375f or 190c for 30 minutes. I make a glaze that I pour over when it is a little cool. Use1/2 cup of icing sugar and 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla. Mix in a little water to make a paste and fill a tube, so you can squeeze it over in a design. You will love this.

POPPYSEED DRESSING FOR SALADS, SPINACH LEAVES AND COOKED POTATOES.

1/2 cup oil.1/4 cup brown sugar. . 5 tablespoons of vinegar.2 tablespoons chopped green onions.1/2 teaspoon salt. 1/2 teaspoon dry mustard. 2 teaspoons poppy seeds. A little tarragon. Place all of this, except the poppy seeds and mix well. Stir them in at the end and serve over salad, over cut up cooked potatoes or even over cooked beets and cut up red onions. This is a fabulous dressing

Have a joyful Purim and remember the less lucky kids, who will love the goodies you share. Remember to take good photographs and year by year the memories of the costumes you created will be shared.

About Me

Welcome..LIVE YOUR LIFE WELL.

I was brought up in rural South Africa and live in Israel on a farm. I feel lucky to have had earth and sky as my scenic world. I have lived with rainbow people and learned a great deal from all of them. My fascination with people, nature, environment, flowers, animals, books, theatre, films, music and art, gave me a hunger for more learning each day. I lectured over the years on health, beauty, natural cosmetics, perfumes, vegetarian and natural foods and supplements, and products that are not tested on animals and are ecologially friendly. I am active in volunteering work and have done this for over forty years. I find creativity a gift to share and it is a way of finding joy in simple things. My family, children and grandchildren are the joy of my life, and my friends are treasures I respect and devote time to. Meditation and healing are part of my life time studies and my health store that I started in the late sixties was a vision I knew that would grow and feed many minds with food for thought. I believe that every experience helps us to grow and learn. The difficult ones and the unexpected hurdles have given me new insights to think about and cope with. My day is what I create and at the end of it, I balance it all and say THANK YOU to my Creator. I appreciate the good earth and would like to pass a better world to our chilren and grand children.Thankyou for your questions and I look forward to sharing many moments with you all.